From Tsunami Police To The Dodo Derby

We’ll begin today with a couple of important announcements. First, a massive tsunami unfurled along the California coast this morning…and your editor observed it firsthand.

At 8:25 A.M., on the button, sirens blared and a tidal wave descended upon Main Beach here in Laguna. There weren’t any giant waves, of course, nor even the slightest visible ripple along the surf.

But there was a massive tsunami of police cars and emergency vehicles crowding the beachfront to protect the public from the “emergency that wasn’t.”

The photo below, snapped moments after the tsunami’s predicted arrival, shows very clearly that the only thing that swept across Laguna Beach this morning was a hodgepodge of uniforms and badges swirling about as purposelessly as driftwood.

California’s treasury may be running on empty, but somehow, we still manage to find the money to send police down to the beach to watch the waves roll in.

Please understand, we have no quarrel with this state of affairs; we’d much rather see a cop car on the beach, for example, than in our rear-view mirror.

We just don’t understand the maths that makes this system work.

Next item on today’s agenda:

It seems we have once again annoyed the folks over at the Darwin Awards. We are sorry to have done so and wish to issue a public apology. To view some of the real work these fine, actual Darwin Award folk do, we present this link directly to their website. Feel free to visit it or not, as you wish.

Further, in consideration of our respect for the folks at the Darwin Awards – and in recognition of their trademark – we will heretofore refrain from utilising any portion of the term “Darwin Awards” in our little spectacle here at The Daily Reckoning.

It’s difficult to find a new name for our contest on such short notice. But fear not, after putting our heads together here at Daily Reckoning headquarters, we came up with the following: “The-name-of-the-guy-who-came-up-with-the-idea-of-evolution-but-who’s-name-we-cannot-use-due-to-trademark-infringement-constraints-Award.”

For short, we have renamed our event the “Dodo Derby.” Joel Bowman provides some details on the Dodo Derby’s first runner up – a state flush with movie star governors, gaping budget deficits and tsunami-gazing police forces – right here.

NOW WATCH: Money & Markets videos

Want to read a more in-depth view on the trends influencing Australian business and the global economy? BI / Research is designed to help executives and industry leaders understand the major challenges and opportunities for industry, technology, strategy and the economy in the future. Sign up for free at research.businessinsider.com.au.